Choices - or that time Emma was forced to use an old Nokia
by dc-4me
Summary: After one incredible incident that can only happen in Storybrooke, Emma's life is temporarily disrupted and, at the end of the week, she's faced with a tough choice. No mentions of H00k or H00d except to tell you they're not in this story.


**AN: No beta for this. I just wrote it today in the spur of a moment. Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

"I'm sorry Sheriff, there's nothing I can do."

"You have to try. You have to. Are you sure you tried everything?"

"I've tried everything. Nothing worked. I'm sorry."

Emma just looks on sad, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I need some time to process this. Can it stay here overnight?"

"Of course it can, Sheriff. Have a good night."

Emma doesn't say anything, just turns and leaves. It's pouring outside but she makes no effort to poof home. Instead she starts to walk. Ten minutes into her walk, her phone starts to vibrate. She looks at the caller ID, but decides to ignore it. She'll be home soon anyway. Her phone vibrates again and Emma just puts her hands in her pockets and continues her walk leaving the phone to vibrate in her pocket. It briefly crosses her mind the phone might get water damage, but she doesn't care. It's just a phone, easy to replace, unlike... But she can't finish the thought as she starts crying some more.

* * *

She arrives at 108 Mifflin Street some 30 minutes later, completely soaked. She opens the door and steps in, the warmth of the house hitting her cold, wet body and warming her just a bit.

"Emma? Is that you?" Regina steps in the foyer as she's heard the door open and close. She's met with the sight of a very cold and wet Emma who looks like she's been crying.

"Oh, Emma, what happened?"

"He couldn't save it. It's gone."

"Tilman is incompetent. We will take it outside Storybrooke to some VW experts if we have to."

"I doubt they could do much Regina. You should see how my baby looks. I didn't see the damage when I took it in but oh it was terrible."

"I'm so sorry, Emma."

"I realise that having a nest of fire wasps in near the engine was bad, but I had no idea they did that much damage. It's not like I can take it to the VW experts and tell them ' _some magic fire wasps decided to make a nest by my bug's engine_ '. I'm...," she chokes back a sob thinking her beloved bug is gone.

"Emma, I'm so sorry. How about I take you out of these wet clothes and I get you into a nice warm bubble bath?"

"Will you join me?"

"Yes, I will join you."

* * *

"Regina, I've tried to call Emma's phone for the past hour or so. Is she ok?" Regina just looks at the open door. Emma's passed out in bed already, the warm bubble bath and a bit of Regina loving relaxed her enough, and she fell asleep. Regina didn't want to disturb her so she left the room to answer the phone."

"Yes, Snow, she's ok. Just upset."

"Oh no." Snow sounds quite upset on the phone. It's no secret around town that Emma absolutely adored her bug and it was almost a trademark of the Sheriff.

"Yes. She's asleep now." Regina goes to the laundry and picks Emma's clothes. She'll wash them and dry them. Last thing they need is Emma's red jacket getting ruined on top of it all.

"Are we still on for tomorrow then?"

"I think so." Regina rummages through Emma's pockets, making sure they're empty. She finds Emma's phone, which has been turned off.

"Well, no wonder you couldn't reach Emma. Her phone is off," Regina grabs a towel and starts to wipe the phone, as it is very wet. She then tries to turn it back on. The screen flickers for a few seconds then the phone shuts itself off.

"Argh. No, no, no, no."

"What? What happened?" Snow asks panicky on the phone.

"I think I just broke Emma's phone."

"What? No!"

"It just turned on for a few seconds and then it died on me."

"Oh, no. Maybe ask Henry."

"He's at Gold's." Regina looks quite panicked now. On top of Emma's bug being gone, she somehow made it worse by possibly breaking her phone.

"Just text him."

"Ok give me a second."

 ** _R: Henry, what does it mean if the phone turns on for a few seconds and then shuts itself off?_**

A few seconds later Henry replies.

 ** _H: That the battery is flat. You need to charge it for a few minutes then try to turn it on."_**

 ** _R: All right. Thank you, honey._**

"What did he say?"

"To plug it in for a few minutes and then try to turn it back on."

"Ok do that."

* * *

After a few minutes Regina unplugs the phone and tries to back on. It fails to turn on.

"Snow, it doesn't turn on."

"Oh no."

"Text Henry"

 ** _R: Henry, the phone won't turn on at all._**

 ** _H: Did you charge it at least a bit?_**

 ** _R: Yes._**

 ** _H: I don't know. Did you do something with it? Press some buttons?_**

 ** _R: No all I did was dry it from the rain water and turn it back on._**

 ** _H: The phone was wet?_**

 ** _R: Yes. Your mother decided it's a good idea to take a walk in pouring rain._**

 ** _H: Oh, well in that case the phone is broken. There's nothing you can do._**

 ** _R: Are you sure?_**

 ** _H: Yes. The phone was wet, inside as well, so when you tried to turn it on you short circuited the board._**

 ** _R: So what can I do?_**

 ** _H: Buy her a new one? Or I'll give her my phone and you can buy me a new one :D_**

 ** _R: I'll think about it._**

"Snow, it looks like I broke Emma's phone."

"Can it be fixed?" Snow was starting to get concerned.

"No. She'll need a new one," Regina sighs.

"It will be fine. She's not that attached to the phone."

"Yes. I better go now. I'll text you tomorrow and I'll let you know if we're going for lunch."

* * *

It's been a week now and Regina was starting to get tired of Emma's self-pity. Sure she no longer has a car and is forced to use an old Nokia phone for work, and she's understandably upset but this has to stop. Snow and David were more than happy to indulge their daughter, but Regina's had enough. She needs her wife back and she needs a functioning adult, not a walking, talking zombie. She's reached a point where she's almost comparing her wife to Bella Swan, but at least that one was an 18-year-old idiot, mourning the loss of her boyfriend. Her wife was pushing 35 and they had a teenage son. She expects more.

"Emma, darling, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Emma asks coming out of the kitchen eating a brownie.

That's another problem she has on her hands. Emma's stress management consists of eating chocolate, lots of it, and being extra clingy to Regina and Henry. She's stopped being too clingy with Henry as he would often go " _Stop it, ma"_ so Regina ended up getting a double dose of Emma being clingy. Not that she minded. She loved taking care of her wife and that meant preventing her from getting diabetes.

"I told you last night. We are going on a trip to Boston."

"Oh, I forgot."

"Well, go get dressed. David will pick us up in 10 minutes and I don't want to keep him waiting or be late for the bus."

Emma just swallows the last big piece of brownie and Regina winces as Emma didn't even bother to chew it properly. She's told Emma many times she needs to savour foods not inhale them. She decides to pick her battles.

"Why are we taking the bus again?"

"Because I'm tired of seeing you cry every time you get into a car."

"That was one time."

"You still sniffle every time you get in a car, Emma." Regina's patience is running thin on this. Really thin.

"Please, Emma, just get dressed." Regina says as she goes to hug Emma and gives her a small peck on the lips.

"… and wear something nice please," she says as she moves away but not before playfully slapping Emma's ass in the process. This perks Emma up instantly.

* * *

Their trip to Boston is uneventful. As they get off at a bus stop Regina orders a cab and gives the driver directions to an address Emma doesn't recognise. She wonders what her wife has in mind for their day off. Possibly not too over the top romantic since Henry joined them on this trip as well.

After a short ride, they pull up next to a car dealership. Inside the yard Emma can see an assortment of cars, in various colours and sizes.

"What are we doing here?"

"We came to buy a car?" Henry says with an eye roll. He's such a mini-Regina sometimes.

Regina for her just pays the driver and gets out of the cab. Emma and Henry follow her closely behind.

"Regina?"

"Yes, Emma?"

"Why are we here?"

Henry just groans, and heads inside the yard to look at different cars, leaving his mom to deal with Emma.

"We came here to buy a car. For you. You can't keep using the police cruiser, so I did a bit of research and this place offers a variety of cars, all brand new."

Emma just looks at Regina and then goes to hug her.

"I love you."

Regina just smiles as she continues to hug Emma.

"I love you too. You know that right?"

Emma just nods and then mutters a quiet yes. Regina pulls out of their embrace and leans in to give Emma a small kiss on the lips. She grabs Emma's hand and drags her towards the yard.

"Emma, remember, you're buying the car for yourself, so you need to buy something that you like. Don't just buy it because Henry or I like it. You have to like it. This is your choice. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Let's go inside. Our son is already in there."

* * *

They spend over 2 hours looking at different cars. None of the cars are to Emma's tastes. They even go across the road to another dealership, and then another and another. None of the cars felt right to Emma. Regina's starting to lose hope that they will find the right car for Emma and imagines they'll have to come back again tomorrow and look at more cars. Just how she wanted to spend the weekend.

But as the 3rd hour came to an end and they were on their 4th car dealership Emma's eyes finally widen and she gasps. Regina turns alarmed towards Emma.

"Emma, are you ok?"

"Yes. It's just …" and Regina looks towards the area Emma's looking at and then she sees them. Two cars, one VW Beetle and one Ford Mustang. Both convertible and both yellow. Emma just lets out a squeak and goes towards them.

Twenty more minutes pass, where all Emma does is look at the specs and get in and out of the cars. Regina calls the car dealer and asks for a test drive. They drive around for a few minutes, in each car. Outside the occasional gasp or squeak, Emma is completely silent.

After their test drive, Emma just silently stares at both cars, arms crossed and a frown on her face.

"Ma, just pick one, I'm hungry."

Regina just looks at Henry and he's instantly quiet. She rummages through her bag, pulls out a granola bar and hands it to Henry who gladly accepts the treat.

"Ugh. This is so hard," Emma moans.

"What is hard?"

"Picking a car?"

"Well which one did you like more?"

"I like both, but for different reasons," Emma just sighs.

"Ok, so tell me what you like each."

"Well the bug, is just you know, the bug, but more modern. The aircon works and you know the bug is so me. It's like a trademark. On the other hand, the Ford feels amazing when I drive it, the way it purrs and roars - oh it's amazing. It has so many features and so much power. It's amazing driving it, and it's bound to turns heads because it's just such an amazing car with amazing looks. I can see myself going to the beach in both cars, wind in my hair, you next to me, but I don't know. In the Bug scenario I feel like I'm young and carefree and in love, unburdened by life. With the Ford, I feel like someone who's in control of their life, that I know what I want and I choose what's best. It's hard. Which statement do I want to make? Carefree or in control?"

Regina's ready to admit that's a lot more insightful than she expected. It looks like this isn't and it wasn't about a simple car. It seemed Emma looked at these as lifestyle choices and expressions of who she actually is and her personality.

"Well, the way I look at it seems that you need to make a choice on 'same as before but somewhat improved' or 'something totally different that offers you a lot more'."

Emma purses her lips at that and knows Regina is trying to make a point, and then it dawns on her and she knows which one she'll pick. A huge grin makes its way on her face and she turns to Regina and in her excitement she picks her up. Regina let's out a small surprised yell and cups Emma's face in her hands.

"Hey," Regina breathes out close to Emma's lips.

"Hey," Emma responds her grin becoming even bigger. Regina just leans in to kiss Emma.

"Moms, can you not?" Henry says clearly embarrassed by his moms public display. Emma lowers Regina back on the ground.

"Sorry, Henry." Regina says looking at her son.

"I am not sorry. Let's go buy my car." Henry is going ahead of them and Emma puts her arms around Regina.

* * *

"There you go ladies, all yours," the dealer says as he hands Emma them the car keys to her brand new yellow Ford Mustang. Emma gladly grabs them as Regina picks up all the paperwork.

"Shotgun," Henry yells as he heads out towards the car. Emma and Regina just look at one another and smile.

"He looks happy. I think I made the right choice yet again Mrs Swan-Mills."

"I think you might have."

"So where to now? Home?"

"No. We need to stop at a mall."

"Moms come on, I'm hungry."

"Henry, you just had a granola bar, but we'll get to the mall and you can buy something to eat when we get there."

* * *

Once they get to the mall, Henry goes directly towards the food court. Emma and Regina follow him close behind. Emma feels like she's walking on cloud nine and is so happy. Henry stops to buy a hamburger and fries. Emma buys herself a milkshake and Regina grabs a smoothie.

"So why are we here?" Henry asks as he bites into his burger.

"Well, your mom's phone broke so we need to buy her a new one."

"I think maybe the whole household needs an upgrade. My phone is so old it's embarrassing, and so is my laptop."

"Kid is right. In fact, you need to upgrade to Regina, your phone barely functions anymore."

"Fine. I'll see if they have anything nice in store."

* * *

They arrive back in Storybrooke late at night. Their day was productive, Emma ended up with a new car and a new white iPhone 6s, Regina bought the same only in black and Henry ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy Edge because it ' _looks cool'_ and he even got a new laptop. Regina's not above spoiling her family and if she's spoiling her wife, she will definitely spoil her son.

After getting dressed for the night Regina slides in bed with Emma and curls up to her. Emma wraps her arm around Regina and Regina gets closer to Emma.

"Did you have a good time today, Emma?"

"The best."

"Are you happy with your purchase?"

"Very. The car is a delight. Can't wait to show it off to dad tomorrow." Regina just humms in response. Emma lifts Regina's head to steal a kiss. Regina shifts her position so she can kiss Emma properly.

"You know, I'm really happy I not only upgraded but down right changed brands to get something that's a lot better," Emma says after she breaks up the kiss.

Regina knows what Emma's referring to, and it's most definitely not the car.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. You're the best thing that happened to me."

Regina smiles at Emma's confession and starts to caress her face lovingly.

"You're the best thing that happened to me too. You and Henry, both of you," Regina says as she leans in to kiss Emma.

 **~Fin**


End file.
